MULE FOOTED

[duals]

Anybody ever run in to these much. Is this bread into them?

[ace]

ive heard of them, their rare but i think it was bred into them

[bulletproof]

a huntin buddy of mine has one that came out of texas or oklahoma one ..ive never caught one around here but did see the tracks of one on a place i was huntin last winter

[jcrosscatahoulas]

I have a buddy in GA that catches them pretty regular from one particular area. They're right in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. They've got a couple boars in their pen. Once in a while they'll have mule footed piglets.

[joshb]

We see them from time to time around here.When I was about 10 or 12 daddy trapped some hogs I think 20 or so on the river by the house that were all mule footed.Does that come from some sort of tame hog?

[bulletproof]

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THE MULE FOOTED HOG and its ORIGIN
Reported by Kevin Ryer

Here in East Tx we run across the rare breed only occasionally. They seem rather prolific around Athens, Palestine, Van and Lindale areas. All the MuleFoots I have ran across were prodominately black and tan in color.
When trapped they were unusually aggressive strong animals. More so than the normal feral hogs. Early research indicated that the hogs were first introduced to the US by Easterners in the Early Railroad Days. But I have found no written or historical evidence to back up that claim.


The following information was obtained from an Oklahoma State University web page. I reference that web page to make and publish a study and facts page of my own.

According to OSU and it's research, "The most distinctive feature of the American Mulefoot hog is the solid hoof which resembles that of a mule. Pigs with solid hooves (also called syndactylism) have attracted the interest of many writers over the centuries, including Aristotle and Darwin. Yet of all the mulefooted hogs described, the American Mulefoot is the only documented population with a breed standard and a long history of agricultural use. This breed is unique to the United States and is critically rare. Recent events, however, have led to more optimism regarding its survival. The origin of the American Mulefoot breed is not clear, but it has a well-documented history over the last century. F.D. Coburn, in his classic 1916 book Swine in America, notes that the Mulefoot hog was found in Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, across the southwest and in some parts of Mexico. (In southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, Mulefoots were sometimes called "Ozark pigs.") The National Mulefoot Hog Record Association was organized in Indianapolis, Indiana, in January 1908. Two additional registries were also founded. In 1910 there were 235 breeders registered in twenty-two states."

"Coburn describes Mulefoot hogs as mainly black, with occasional animals having white points; medium flop ears; and a soft hair coat. The hogs were of fairly gentle disposition, fattened quite easily, and weighed from 400-600 pounds at two years of age. They were considered the highest quality "ham hogs" and were fed to great weights before slaughter. For some years breeders claimed that Mulefoots were immune to hog cholera. That claim has been disproved, though the breed does seem to possess remarkable hardiness."

"Mulefoots were taken to Canada between 1900 and 1920 but no attempt was made to establish a herd book and pedigree records were not maintained according to J. W. MacEwan in The Breeds of Farm Livestock in Canada, 1941."

"Today, the Mulefoot is the rarest of American swine breeds. It has been a conservation priority for American Livestock Breeds Conservancy for over a decade. A very thick file of correspondence attests to continued attempts to locate and evaluate additional populations and establish new breeding groups."

The report went on to say that, "A remnant population of the American Mulefoot has been owned by R.M. Holliday of Louisiana, Missouri, for nearly forty years. He remembers from boyhood that his family and others raised these hogs by putting them on islands in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to forage during the summer and then rounding them up in the fall for slaughter. This practice was terminated by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s."

"In 1964 Mr. Holliday gathered together stock from all the known breeders and established his herd. During 1976 he swapped animals with a breeder in North Dakota, which introduced some undesirable traits such as prick ears, wattles and split hooves. Nevertheless, Holliday's strong and consistent production selection has maintained a generally uniform and characteristic herd. After his experience with this "exotic" animal dealer he sold no more stock except those contracted for slaughter. During these years the Mulefoot registries folded and all known copies of the herd books were lost."

The report also states, "In the fall of 1993, Mark Fields in cooperation with ALBC, contacted Mr. Holliday in an attempt to purchase a few animals and begin a Mulefoot herd. After several lengthy phone conversations it was agreed that he could go to Holliday's farm to view the herds. Mr. Holliday agreed to sell a small breeding group. After spending time with Mr. Holliday and learning about the recent history of the breed, Mr. Fields decided to reactivate the Mulefoot hog registry. This has been a frustrating task since the registry information was destroyed after the death of the last registry secretary in the 1960s."

"Mr. Holliday made additional stock available and Fields has assisted the movement of a herd to Iowa, where Kent Whealy of Seed Savers Exchange coordinated their distribution to four breeders."

"The Mulefoot hog population is classified as Critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (fewer than 200 in annual registration). However its outlook is improving. It is now being raised by breeders across the state of Missouri and additional stock has recently been sent to Georgia. Anyone interested in raising this breed of swine should contact the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy or the National Mulefoot Hog Association."

National Mulefoot Hog Association
Kevin Powell
12942 - 338th Street
Strawberry Point, IA 52076
ph [phone]
email [e-mail]


Reference:
Oklahoma State University website.
Correspondence from Mark A. Fields, Route 1 Box 126, Clark, MO 65243
Conservation Priority Livestock Breeds 1995, The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Box 477,
Pittsboro, NC 27312. Phone: [phone]"



In conclusion, the Mulefooted Hog and it's origin is still a mystery. No doubt it will remain a rare find for quiet some time in the future.

Thanks for reading.

[lunger]

bulletproff,I posted this on Kevins board several years ago.I'll try to dig up the rest of the story.
Check your PM .

[bulletproof]

got it,thanks

[mrbeagler]

I have a very good friend that
has property in Palestine Texas.
He has more Hogs on it than carter has liver pills
its over run with hogs.
I have never seen one of these Mule Foot hogs
but I just sent him a email to see if he's got them
on his place.
He sent me some pictures of last weekends hunt
and some pics of the feeders good lord the hogs are
thick on his place.
I'll try to find out more from him on these Mule foot pigs
on his property or if he has them at all there.

[mrbeagler]

FOLLOW UP ON MULE FOOT HOGS !

I got a email back from my friend in Palestine Texas
last night. He hasnt seen the Mule Foot Hogs on his property
but has a friend that has trapped a couple on the property
he has leased.

My buddy just left this morning for the week to Spend it all
including Thanks Giving at the camp...
Spending the whole time out there ... Sure wish I was there LOL ..

[bulletproof]

sounds like a good weekend

[doglady53]

if your talking about mule footed hogs had a few on my land had a neighbor who hated wildlife when i was dog hunting one time i came back to my land the drive way covered in blood found out while i was gone the neighbor down the road came on my land an shot 2 of my hogs an dragged them to a ditch an left them their to rot calling the law back then was a joke in my county way back had a different sheriff at the time , but the sheriff now is pretty nice an he would not of put up with the killing of my hogs mule footed hogs are common in suwannee county fla obrien is were mine came from one ranch had a lot of them running on their lands

[jjtonks]

I have only seen one and that was a 275 lb boar that we cought in prunedale california. this hog sure cut our dogs up, really i didnt notice the feet on the thing till we got it back to the house and started cleanin it. I thought there was something wrong with it until i asked one of the old timers in the area.

[faylinx]

i've heard of three or four that were caught around here, never seen one myself tho....

[bayedup85]

We caught a hog that had only 1 mule hoof. The other three hoofs were normal. Kinda looked like a peg leg on the back left. I'll try to find some pics